All Shades of Dawn
by SnapTobiume10
Summary: Let us think about Dr. Isles for a moment. She is smart, almost in a frightening manner. And she is beautiful. Maura also has a past she talks about infrequently. She went to a French, all girl's boarding school. She was adopted, and her true parents are a little out of the ordinary. Sounds about right, yes? Good. Because it is all a lie.
1. Chapter 1

_AN- Warning- this is weird. I write quite a bit of weird stuff, to be completely honest. And this is probably one of the weirdest yet. Since I have two (Skyrim and Persona) that are based around Maura, I figured I would write one based around Jane... Kind of. Well, be prepared. That is all I could possibly say..._

* * *

There is something important I have to tell you about Maura Isles. Something that neither one of us has ever dared to think much about, let alone mention in more than a hushed whisper following a terrible nightmare.

She has a secret.

At this point, I can imagine your face. Your eyes are probably humongous, bugging out of your head in a fly- like fashion. I completely understand your dilemma centering around my statement. Let us think about Dr. Isles for a moment.

She is smart, almost in a frightening manner. When she talks, she has the unnerving tendency to spout off entire volumes of information, as if you searched your question on Google and were now reading the Wikipedia about it. And she is beautiful. I may be a little bit biased when it comes to this, since she is mine after all, but still. With long, honey blonde hair that falls in waves, and the most perfect curves... I rephrase my previous statement. She is drop dead gorgeous. Yes, that sounds much more accurate. Ah Hell, I'm starting to sound like her.

Anyway, Maura also has a past she talks about infrequently. She went to a French, all girls boarding school. She was adopted, and her true parents were a little out of the ordinary. One is a homicidal maniac and the other a brilliant doctor. Sounds about right, yes?

Good. Because it is all a lie.

Your eyeballs probably just fell out of your damn head, something that Maura tells me is actually quite impossible. She would know. You think Maura can't lie. This is also a lie. The majority of this woman's life is one gloriously spun, intricate web. I would know, since I crafted it for her, myself. If someone were to ever find out...

Well, that is exactly why you are here.

You see, I need to tell someone, just in case. My job is dangerous, and I constantly am put in compromising positions. So it is important that someone know about Maura, just in case tragedy befall me.

You see, not everything is as it appears.

I see that my words are confusing you, and quite rapidly. My apologies. Perhaps I should begin at the beginning; unfurling the many lies surrounding the two of us, one by one. Yes, that sounds good. Get comfortable, the tale is by no means a brief one. So, the beginning.

Well, I suppose I should start with who I am..


	2. Chapter 2

I had grown up knowing only my mother, really. Though I did have those few, vague, foggy recollections of my father also. And this strange letter. When I was about ten, I received this plain white envelope. It was one of those really small ones that you put legal documents in; they're much too long, and way too short. Well, it wasn't return addressed to anyone, and only had my name, my full name, scrawled across the front. The letters were like something from a computer, too. It was really out there. Inside had been the strangest message too. All it said was 'use this well'. Not that I had any idea what that meant at the time.

Now I have to explain something that may cause a regression of the previous paragraph. Frank Rizzoli, my father, was still in my life. But I don't know, he never felt real, I suppose. There always seemed to be something off about him. So I never really considered him there in the truest sense of the word.

Anyway. As soon as I had pieced the oldest Rizzoli business together from old newspaper articles and magazine scraps, things began to make a whole lot more sense. I mean, not about the fake Frank Rizzoli, but just what I received in my envelope. Cased carefully inside had been a completely average, if totally ancient, key. It was silver, and slightly worn, but not unusable. I never told my mother about it.

However, I had never expected my life to change so drastically with one event. That damn key? It started it all. One day, I had been searching around for clues pertaining to the current case I was working on. As a female detective, I have to be twice, maybe even three times as good as everyone else was, just to maintain the level of respect they were beginning to show me finally.

That was when I found my father's arcade.

I was so ecstatic that I found what we needed and was closing that case as soon as possible. By that Friday, I had driven to the broken down old shack located just outside of Boston.

As I approached, I took in every detail with a detective's trained eye. It looked as if it hadn't been shown love since, well, before I was ten. Which was probably true. There was little or no glass left in the windows, and the boards that attempted to cover them were so rotted and darkened by weather, I didn't dare lay a finger on them. Instead, I approached the door, running my hands over the ancient engravings. I believe it said 'Rizzoli Arcade' which makes sense, but I couldn't be sure.

"That door hasn't been looked at in ages, miss. Hell, the entire building hasn't, to tell the truth." A gravelly old voice told me, though I kept my attention focused on the door. "The developers couldn't get a hold of the deed to knock it down, and then they seemed to just forget about her afterwards. A shame, really." He continued. I fished around my pocket for the key I never let out of my sight. "She was a beauty in her time." I grinned, turning.

"I know, I... remember." There was no one there, and looked as if there never had been. I should have taken the hint. I should have turned and walked away. But I, Jane Rizzoli, did not. I slid the key into the lock.

And it turned.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as I stepped foot in that place, it was like I had walked into a time capsule. Except stranger. Because the time capsule was my own. I remembered this place, like it was a pleasant childhood dream. And now, beneath coats of dust that had taken years to accumulate? It was absolutely no different. The arcade machines were covered in thick plastic, the kind I remember trying to drag over them every night when we closed up. I had been too tiny, so my father had always had to help me. As I walked past, I whispered the names of every game I touched, remembering how I would sit for hours and play them all with coins from father's box of earnings. Then I looked up.

I wondered if it was still there.

That machine.

The one out of legends.

I picked up a faster walk, not daring to run. Even I, in the sanctity of this moment, couldn't bear to break the peace in this place. It was too beautiful. Finally, I reached out, grasping the dust covered sheet. Closing my eyes tightly, I pulled, and hoped nothing was broken. After a deep breath, I opened them, and finally reached for the fuse box to the right of this particular machine, restarting the whole system.

I had never heard a better clash of anthems from video games in my life. The one before me flickered a moment before it blazed to its own life. As I watched the miniscule bikers blaze trails around the screen, my hand dove back into my own pocket. I had to play it again. I slid the quarter in, waiting a brief moment before it clanked on the ground at my feet. I cursed, loudly, bending to retreave the coin.

That was when I noticed it.

That groove, in the floor. As if the machine had been dragged out and away from the wall, repeatedly.

Being Jane Rizzoli, female detective, I had to know. My hands slid along the sides of the machine, and I dragged. And sure enough, the piece of old school technology moved. And exposed a door.  
Which of course, I went through.

Now, I had been expecting an office or something. But no, I came across a miniature, hign tech laboratory. Which immediately turned on in a blinding flash of lights when I pressed a hand cautiously upon a counter. Or at least, what I had thought to be a counter. But it had been a computer, one unlike any I had ever seen before. It asked me for a password, and my lip twitched before I smirked, enterring his pet name for me.

The light blue 'access granted' was no surprise.

However, 'deportment authorized' definitely was.

As was the electronic sizzle.

And the blackness that followed.


	4. Chapter 4

When I came too, it was on a hard floor. And not only hard, but rough in texture too. I pushed upon it, jumping back when I cut my hand. Checking briefly, I knew the injury was only superficial, and nothing to be even mildly concerned about. Sure enough, within moments, the bleeding had stopped. My hand was fine; nothing to be worried about.

Which was more than what I could say for my surroundings. I had no idea where the hell I was. Not the slightest damn clue. All there was rocks, and dirt, and more rocks. Like holy shit, mountains. I have never seen so many damn mountains in my whole damn life. And not a stitch of grass. Like, seriously, holy Hell. I had barely spun a circle when I heard this rattling, humming noise, my muscles tensing out of reflex. That was when I saw it; this massive floating thing. I thought perhaps I was saved.

I had never been more wrong in my entire life.

It slowed, finally hovering above my head like the pincher of those annoying bugs with those annoying snappers. Except it glowed a bright, neon orange against black exterior. I will forever hate the color orange. Instead of running, like any normal person would have at this point, I waited. Within a brief moment, these two... beings, I suppose, grasped my arms in an iron grip, like I would have run if they hadn't.

"Hey, hey!" I shouted, struggling against them. There was no way these men were human, they were too damn strong. "Where are you taking me!"  
"Quiet, Program!" One shouted, tossing me against a metal contraption once inside the strange ship. I wiped my mouth, relieved there was no blood from the smack my head had received.

"What the Hell." I hissed, looking up to someone else who had growled at my voice. His face was all twisted, and I know my face whitened. I turned away. "Double Hell." It was a low mutter, as I stood, eyes darting around. This was all really, really weird. But I was certain I had not fallen asleep or something. But this was just plain weird. I turned towards one of the people beside me. "Hey, where are they taking us?" He turned, growling. And my face paled. I know it did. He looked like no other human I had ever seen before. His face was all twisted and marred with sunken, black eyes. "Okay then." I whispered to myself. Forget how weird I just thought this was. That was an understatement. This was fucked up. In the head. Badly. Really, really badly.

Finally, after what seemed like a really long time but probably wasn't, the ship- like thing we were on stopped. Well, I mean, it descended and stuff, and then stopped. Minor details. The doors slid open, and we were led out like prisoners. I was really tempted to ask where they were taking me, but it was the same person that had so kindly told me to keep silent. Or at least it looked like the same one. I have no idea, they all have face masks and no eyes. Or eyes that you can't see because black visors cover them. You know what? Whatever. I just didn't say a damn thing. Standing in a line that was as close to perfect as I ever have seen though, I started getting nervous.

This place looked like nowhere I had ever seen before.

The ground was black, but there were these markings all over. And the markings were this metallic blue kind of color. And they looked like they were made from neon lights. I mean, they probably were, because whoever ran this shit was obviously one rich fuck. That was what I thought at the time. And the buildings? Massive. They towered up above our heads, up and up and up into the never- ceasing skyline. Seriously. It was crazy.

Anyway, this guy walks out, and he looks like everyone else does. Black suit with orange neon crap all over it in some wicked design. Black visor, no eyes. But he looked, i don't know, more important. He stopped in front of the first person.

"Deprogram." He stated, in a very program- like voice. I mean like, legit computer voice. Like your phone when you make it read out a word that isn't really a word and you laugh your ass off because its hilarious. That kind of voice. He walked to the second one. "Deprogram." Then the third.

"Deprogram?" I whispered sarcastically to myself, rolling my eyes.

"Games." My head jerked. But that was less than the guy he had been looking at. No, that dude? He flipped a shit. He pulled out from the people confining him, preparing to drag him... somewhere.

"No! Anywhere but there! Noooo!" He screamed, running off the edge of the place where we were and into some buzzing object. I think it was a fan. Even if it wasn't, I'm going to pretend it was for the sake of my brain and what is left of my sanity. All I am completely sure of, is there were pieces of his body flying up a few milliseconds later in bright, neon blue. I freaked out, but kept still. Mostly. The guy approached me.

"Hey! Who are you, what the Hell is going on? What just-"

"Games." He turned from me, looking to the next person. People dragged me to the side. I was shocked, and could only think a couple things.

One; some guy just said "Games" to me.

Two; another person who got the "Games" word, jumped off a cliff.

Three; this guy then exploded in a fan.

Four; Ah, _Hell._


	5. Chapter 5

I was standing in a round room, on a round platform. There were one... Two... Three... Four capsules around me. The room itself was dark, with electric- like lights around my platform. I went to move, when suddenly lights flicked on around the four capsules, coupled with a sliding noise that was similar to a sliding glass door that fit as close to perfect as you could get on its tracks. I gulped, watching as two women stepped out, in front of me. They wore a slightly off- white, greyish color, with white lights embedded in the fabric. And they had on the weirdest stillettos I have ever seen; the heels were attatched to the rest of the raised platform bottoms with material bars. It was, well, illogical. But hey, they could walk in them. So I could give them credit for that; I would have fallen on my face already. One in front of me had this crazy hair; it was like, purple, but iridescent. I couldn't help but stare at her, as she approached, laughing grey eyes glued to my own.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked her. She only smirked, glancing me over. Then she flicked her fingers, and they glowed like some type of techno- knife.

"Suit up." She stated, and I felt the other three begin cutting at my clothes.

"Hey! Hey-!" I stated, alarmed briefly. "All you guys had to do was ask, I mean-." She smirked again, and I couldn't help but let my attention wander back to the one with purple hair, who had so kindly ignored my previous question about her name. She stepped back, and there must have been a panel or something, because suddenly a rack of clothing came up from the floor. The fabric looked spandex- like, and I cringed at the idea of wearing something so skin- tight. I didn't do skin- tight, if you know what I mean. Anyway, they fit this black material to me, and clicked on these wicked- looking chest protectors, a left- arm gauntlet, these wicked low- heeled boots. I looked badass, I'll admit. But then the unnamed one took out this disk thing from the rack, holding it in reverence in her hands.

"This is your disc. It will hold all the information about what happens to you here. Do not lose it." She stated, stepping around to my back. She placed it into a holder, clicking it into place. I admit, the feeling of having that disc was weird. It was like, you got a brain extension or something. Like an SD card for your phone; only this thing was an SD card for my brain. I felt like I could remember anything with just the simplest need. It was pretty cool, actually. She then stepped around, and I was about to try for her name again when she looked at me. "Evenstar." She whispered. Then, in unison, the three other android- like women began stepping back towards their capsules; walking backwards in those nutty heels. I held out an arm to stop her,when she started to move back herself.

"Wait! They said I'm going to Games or something, any advice?" She smirked, a step away from her c apsule. One perfectly sculpted purple eyebrow rose.

"Survive." The lights around her and the others clicked off, and a path lit on the floor. I looked down at my armor for the first time now, and noticed that it was glowing with blue lines. Cool. I glowed. And this spandex stuff was comfortable. But I wondered what I would have to survive through that made some dude jump off the edge into a fan. well, there was really only one way to find out.

"Okay, Jane. You can do this. Go Rizzoli!" I cheered sarcastically to myself, beginning to walk down the doubled white lines. I wondered where this would come out, but i was not in the figurative dark for long. I came to a glass- like wall, resting my hand against it, and furrowing my brow.

And then my square capsule began to move, and I was in the Games.


	6. Chapter 6

I was brought out into a large, circular area, but I couldn't exactly move all that far from where I was standing. See, I was in a square, glass- like capsule in a giant arena that was generally circular shaped. And I was... I guess you would say hovering. I don't really know how it happened, or how it worked, but I was freaking floating in the middle of black, abyss- like space. Like, oh my God. I so did not want to fall into that shit. Trust me. But there were all these other containers doing the floating thing towards one another, so for a few brief moments, I took comfort in the fact that I wasn't alone. And then I saw two capsules collide with one another, and their inmates got into crouches that were almost feral in nature. One reached behind himself with this crazy grace, ripped his disc from his back, and tossed it full- force at the other guy. That damn unfortunate dude. He shattered into, no joke, like, twelve million pieces. I reached behind myself, pulling off my disc. Immediately, it began spinning, and the edges were sharper than I had thought.

"Cool." I breathed, as my capsule rocked slightly. I turned to my opponent; a smaller guy with this frightened expression on his face. This was going to be fun, I couldn't help but think, ignoring the fact that they would explode into millions of little blue pieces and die. Honestly, I thought of it more like some awesome video- game, virtual reality mojo- magic crap. I mean, that was obviously the answer. Magic crap. I flipped the disc towards the guy, and he dodged, sliding over to the side as he did so. I ducked, watching over my head as the wall shattered, falling down around me in minuscule blue and clear- like shards. This could not be good. My disc flew back towards me, and for a brief moment I thought it would chop my own head off, when I reached out and closed my hand around it. It knew who its master was, the damn thing. But that was good for me, and bad for... Well, everyone else. I twirled the disc, dodging the guy's once more before throwing mine again. He shattered, but I turned my eyes away before I really saw what was happening. My capsule rocked, and it rotated, opening on another side. This one, I was ready for. My disc felt no heavier, as he ran towards me and I ran up the wall; being a cop and dodging them during my early life really had its advantages. I executed a perfect back flip, before slamming my sharpened weapon into the ground, throwing the blue hexagons downward into abyss- like space. The dude went with it, as I flipped up again. This was almost too easy, in a way. I had never really been this good at video games. Its amazing what a gun and badge can do for a person, I suppose. A path formed in front of me, and I glanced to both sides, watching as other people fought, diverting my gaze just as one was about to die. I stopped before another moving capsule, as a program with orange lights reached up for his disc, drawing it out and splitting it into two. I reached for my own. "That has got to be against the rules. Come on, dude." I think he chuckled, I'm not completely sure. All I know is that, suddenly, I was getting my ass kicked. I mean, like, I threw mine, and he deflected the bladed object, tossing it over to the side. Ducking, I had run towards it, when he cracked the ground, and I was hanging by like, two fingers. Another really helpful flip up, and I tried the same deflection he did, getting one blade away, while he moved insanely fast to hold the other at my throat. I felt the edge touch and then rip through skin, holding in a gasp as I knew blood had leaked down my throat just a bit.

"User..." He whispered, before sheathing both blades and dragging me up by my arms. A rounded platform formed, and he shoved me on to it, pinning me in place as the platform moved, floating over the damn black hole I had been really close to falling into only a few minutes ago. I had no idea where he was taking me, and I really didn't care as long as I was out of the games. I kind of understood actually, why that other dude had jumped into that fan. I understood completely. We thought Hell was bad. Games were worse.


	7. Chapter 7

Two guards shoved me into a large room finally, with four others manning circular stations; two on each side. One guy was standing with his back to me, wearing a black cape with orange glow- lights. I was furious; this was all getting ridiculous, and I wanted answers. One of the men manning the stations glared at me.

"Identify yourself, Program." He stated in yet another metallic, animatron voice. I nearly growled at them.

"I'm not a Program!" This was all like a really fucked up dream, or a crazy nightmare. Or just some hallucination that one would get after a drug or something. It was all just so damn weird.

"Identify." He stated again, and my eyes narrowed.

"My name is Jane Rizzoli." I didn't like any of this, one bit. But it did remind me of this whacked out story my dad used to tell me, my real dad that is. About how he had found this place that he called "The Grid", and the streets were like circuit boards and shit like that, or along the lines of. I glared at the guy inn the cape. "What the Hell is going on? Is this that place, the Grid? Who the Hell are you?" He turned, taking a couple steps down. As he did so, his black helmet retracted, and I bit back a gasp.

"Hey Janie, been a long time, hasn't it." He stated, grinning from ear to ear. My knees nearly melted. I knew that the man at home had never been my real father. I always had known he had been too... Fake. Just too unreal.

"Dad."

"Little girl, look at you. Its been so long... How did you get in here?" He came over, wrapping me in a slightly awkward hug. Not that all hugs weren't awkward, especially when you were hugging me.

"I.. I um, found the store. Got the key." It was true. And I didn't know what else to say. I was here, in some place I seriously had not believed in, with my dad who had been missing for like, thirty years. It was all a little mind boggling, and I couldn't quite wrap my brain around it. "Dad. How... What happened... You're... You're here."

"Yes. Yes, I'm here." Something flickered in his eyes, the slightest bit of pixelation. I took a step back, reaching behind my neck for the disc that rested there, the edges flaring up brightly.

"You are not my father." I whispered. He smirked, a crooked smile as a helmet came up over his hair.

"Yes, Jane. I am much, much greater." He hed up a hand. "Capture her! To the grid! Let her fight for her life!" I was wrong, again. The Games weren't Hell, but this was going to be. Third time's a charm, I suppose.


End file.
